Archive for Baltimore Sun
Media Relations Tip #14: Don’t Ask for Guaranteed Coverage
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Here’s a new one, brought to the PR Buzzsaw’s attention via a Twitter exchange this morning:
Gus Sentementes, a reporter with The Sun in Baltimore, received an unusual request from a PR person who wanted a “100 percent guarantee” that Gus would write a story before he would be granted access to the company. No chance to judge its newsworthiness, no opportunity to see if they had anything interesting to say/show, not to mention what Gus’s editor would decide. Promise you’ll write a story first, and then you can sit down with the company reps. Otherwise it’s a waste of time!
Gus was likely as surprised as we were, and sent out a tweet to see what PR people who follow him on Twitter thought.
I tweeted that the PR person was either clueless about the media or did not have the ability to counsel his/her management team about what a bad idea it is, and that it will have negative repercussions for the company/brand down the road.
Gus confirmed in a subsequent post:
“I meet a lot of people and I have a long memory. Just b/c I don’t write about u now doesn’t mean I won’t in the future.”
Later, Gus tweeted how he responded:
“I said making a guarantee would be unethical and unrealistic. I haven’t heard back.”
If any PR people out there have ever requested a coverage guarantee, we’d love to hear your point of view. Has it ever worked? Maybe we can all learn something.
PR Buzzsaw Nominated for The Sun’s ‘Mobbie Awards’ Recognizing Best Blogs in Maryland
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Behind Buzz’s veneer of “smart ass, man-about-town, be seen, be heard and often” lies a modest man who was left speechless upon learning his very own PR Buzzsaw blog was nominated by The Baltimore Sun in its Mobbie Awards program – that’s short for Maryland’s Outstanding Blogs!
Fans of the buzzed one have until this Friday, Oct. 9th to vote by visiting the Mobbie Awards section of The Sun’s Web site, entering their account information (or registering for a free Sun account) and clicking. No paper ballots in this election!
Buzz is up against an eclectic group of blogs, some with a dedicated, unrelenting get-out-the-vote machine in place. Buzz prefers a more personable approach, so he humbly asks for your votes. If you really care about Buzz as you profess that you do, please show your love for him with your vote. And don’t let him fall behind the likes of fellow blog/candidates “Your A Idiot” (yep, sic and all, that’s the name) or the Sandra Shaw – Weather in Satin blog that keeps readers entertained with posts on WBAL-TV’s bubbly weather forecastress.
Summer Forecast: Baltimore Newspaper Competition Heats Up; From Buyouts to New Features
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve been part of the Baltimore community for decades, handling community relations and media relations for our clients, and never before witnessed such a change in the local newspaper scene.
The Baltimore Sun: buyouts cause dozens and dozens of experienced news staffers to head for the exits, while the editors work internally on a late August/early September release of a ”re-design” expected to greatly reduce the space alloted for news. Already, readers have seen the elimination of a separate Business section. There’s more to come, sources tell us. Once household names, many reporters are taking on new careers (we know of a Pulitzer candidate turned inner-city kindergarten teacher). Who knows what the new Sun will bring, while the online version of the paper continues to see increases in visitors.
Meanwhile at The Examiner, they’ve switched to a Thursday- and Sunday-only home delivery schedule and 
introduced a competitive lineup of features that makes the tabloid-sized newspaper now appear surprisingly full of content: Credo, a page featuring a Q and A with an interesting local resident (the inaugural issue featured a Columbia, Md. native who is an astronaut); Green Scene, showing a company’s environmental innovations (have we got a client for you!); and Kudos!, honoring those residents who have achieved a special recogntion for their work or expertise. And there’s much more. If the paper can shake some of its startup ills (to begin with, way too many typos and factual errors by a young staff) it will continue to make a serious run at The Sun.
It’s tough times for the print newspaper, so the innovations – or missteps – here in Baltimore are sure to provide lessons for others.
Crisis Communications Tip #16: Seek, Not Hide, from Media
Posted by: | CommentsEvery crisis situation is unique and requires a unique strategy for handling the media. It may be that the smartest strategy is to reach out to the media in a managed and controlled way such as regularly scheduled briefings hosted by a trained company spokesperson where all media are invited and provided ample time for questions.
Or how about the strategy that Sheila Dixon, mayor of the City of Baltimore, recently put into practice as she continues to receive ongoing media attention and scrutiny about an investigation that is just beginning to unfold and that promises to be messy at the least! 
After days of coverage by all of the Baltimore media and answering reporters’ questions wherever she went, you’d think she’d give herself a break when she was off the clock. Nope. Instead, she made an unannounced, solo appearance at a downtown restaurant where members of various local media were gathered for their regularly scheduled get together to talk shop over adult beverages.
According to Baltimore Sun columnist Laura Vozzella, Mayor Dixon joined in the small talk chatter, bought her own drink and disarmed those who had likely earlier in the day held a microphone to her face asking her to comment on the investigation. Of course, the current situation never came up and the reporters had a front row seat to see that the Mayor was in many ways just like they were: enjoying a couple of relaxing minutes with friends and colleagues after a long day at the office.
This strategy is not for everyone. It takes a level of courage, confidence and poise that not every executive can muster – especially in a crisis situation. However, the benefit of the Mayor’s strategy – taking deliberate steps to be one-on-one with them on their own turf and in a neutral situation – allows the media to see her as an individual and not only as an elected official which is almost guaranteed to be reflected in their upcoming coverage of the investigation.
